The prior art reveals a plurality of telecommunication connectors for terminating telecommunications cables comprising a plurality of twisted pairs of wires. Many of these connectors use Insulation Displacement Contacts (IDCs), which, although they allow for multiple terminations on the same connector, prove unsuitable for maintaining the distance between individual conductors of a pair, an important factor for improving signal performance. Moreover, the use of IDCs to terminate conductors typically results in connectors necessitating specific tools for termination.
To overcome these and other drawbacks of IDCs, some connectors use Insulation Piercing Contacts (IPCs), which perforate the conductors' outer insulating cover to provide electrical contact. Insulation piercing technology allows for multiple contacts to be positioned on the same row, thus providing for smaller-sized connectors with improved performance. Still, in most prior art connectors using insulation piercing technology, wires to be terminated typically run in parallel and end portions of the twisted pairs of wires are isolated from one another and aligned with the respective contact terminals using accessories such as wire guides. These wire guides are typically disposed between the end of the cable jacket and the connector's insulated housing and comprise a plurality of longitudinally extending parallel channels, which receive the wires. One major drawback is that, as the point of insertion of individual conductors into the connectors is arranged along a parallel line, unwanted cross-talk and the like may arise, thus reducing the connectors' performance, especially at high frequencies. Moreover, the separation between the conductors of a twisted pair is not rigorously maintained.
Consequently, there exists a need for a connector, which uses insulation piercing technology and ensures that contact terminals are positioned such that the separation between the contact pairs is substantially the same as the spacing between individual wires of a pair.